Barnet Conservatives have lashed out at Liberal Democrat councillors for being hypocritical in the dispute over Icelandic bank investments.

Liberal Democrat leader Jack Cohen had previously launched scathing attacks on the Conservatives’ financial management, following the loss of £27.4 million of Barnet Council money deposited in Glitnir and Landsbanki banks.

But the Tories have hit back, claiming 15 Liberal Democrat councils had £113m locked up in Iceland.

They also claimed Barnet Liberals invested £164m in overseas banks before the 2002 elections, including £105m in HSH Nordbank, based in Hamburg, and £25m in Landesbank Berlin.

“People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” said Cllr Freer.

“Liberal Councils elsewhere have a total of £113m tied up in Icelandic banks, but we have yet to hear any criticism of those actions from Liberal members here.

“All the Liberals do is shout from the sidelines and do nothing productive.

“They had over £160m in overseas banks and there is no evidence, given their Liberal Democrat audit chairman’s silence, that they would not have deposited in Iceland.”

Mr Cohen said the Tory comments proved their “attacks had hit home”.

He added: “This sounds like the Tories clutching at straws in an attempt to find someone else to blame.

“The truth is Barnet is the sixth biggest investor in Icelandic banks. In order to reach the Lib Dem figure the Tories have aggregated money from several Lib Dem authorities and not one of them invested more than Barnet.

“We never objected to money being invested abroad. We do object to Barnet Council chasing higher rates of interest with banks of dodgy credentials with the consequent increase in risk.

“The Tories are in a spin over this and we, the smallest group on the council, are making them sweat.”